Philippoussis Leaves Delray

August 24, 2002|By Charles Bricker Staff Writer

NEW YORK — Mark Philippoussis, the 1998 U.S. Open runner-up, is selling his five-acre ranch in Delray Beach and moving to San Diego, where he not only expects to continue his comeback from knee surgery but improve his surfing.

"It's a very good environment for Mark, and the people he'll be surfing with there are not party people who stay up until 5 in the morning. They're serious athletes who are up at 6 a.m. and go to real jobs after surfing. He's looking forward to this move," his father, Nick Philippoussis, said Friday.

Philippoussis had been in the Delray home only one year after getting out of the party atmosphere of Miami Beach. The Palm Beach County home not only has stables for his two Arabian horses but a riding arena and two tennis courts -- one hardcourt and one red clay. The house went on the market this week at $3,395,000. It's west of the turnpike off Atlantic Avenue.

"It's a bit too much pressure here," Nick Philippoussis said. "This new house is 20 minutes north of San Diego in a surfing community and some of our neighbors are among the best surfers in the world. Plus, we've got a balcony overlooking the ocean and the sunsets are great.

"The only thing Mark is doing now is surfing and tennis," said his father. They've got training courts three minutes away and a club at nearby Del Mar Racetrack.

Team Brotherhood

Israel's Amir Hadad and Pakistan's Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi, who created international headlines by playing doubles at Wimbledon, have requested a wild card to play doubles at the U.S. Open and, if they need it, there is a very high probability they will get it for the statement it would make only two weeks before Sept. 11.

Qureshi's tennis federation condemned him during Wimbledon for playing with a Jew, but the two men, who have become good friends, said they were unconcerned about politics. They just want to play tennis.

After doing well in a series of Challengers, Hadad and Qureshi qualified for Wimbledon and won two rounds before losing to Martin Damm and Cyril Suk in the round of 16.

Lucic rebounds

Mirjana Lucic roared through the final two sets Friday to qualify for the U.S. Open main draw.

"This is the best I've felt in years -- maybe three years," she said after a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over No. 15 seed Aniko Kapros of Hungary.

Three years ago, Lucic was 17 years old, had escaped from a tyrannical father in Croatia and was close to becoming a leading figure on the women's tour. At the 1999 Wimbledon she shocked Monica Seles in the third round, upset 1998 runner-up Nathalie Tauziat in the quarters and took Steffi Graf to three sets in the semis before losing.

And then issues began -- settling the difficulty with her father, her runaway weight and her lack of motivation.

"We've helped her and worked with her and the only thing now weighing on her shoulders is taking care of her mother and family," said Nick Bollettieri, who brought Lucic back into his training facility in Bradenton four months ago.

"I'm very committed and I know I have a gift. But gift without hard work is nothing," she said. "I've been through a couple of rough years, but I'm together now. I'm doing great."

After a long absence from Grand Slams, she has now qualified for the French Open and U.S. Open this season.

Mattek qualifies

It wasn't a brilliant qualifying tournament for American players. Eighteen men and 18 women were in the draws and three women (Bethanie Mattek of Boca Raton, Brie Rippner and Ansley Cargrill) and one man (Eric Taino) made it through into the main draw.

Mattek, 17, qualified for her first Grand Slam by beating No. 17 Zuzana Ondraskova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4.